On-the-fly blending of well treatment fluids is not typically used for corrosive chemicals. Generally, blending corrosive chemicals, otherwise known as acids, or hazardous chemicals, is done at a location other than the well site, using batch mixing. The chemicals are mixed in a tank at a bulk chemical plant and then transported to the well site. The mixing and the transportation are costly. Specialized transports are required to transport the mix. Additionally, specially trained personnel are required. In addition to being costly, this can be undesirably time consuming. Further, any real-time change to the mix presents problems, as an entire new batch must be mixed and transported. While this occurs, the job must wait, which can be extremely costly. Further, batch mixing requires that the tank be emptied prior to changing the mix. It is difficult to anticipate the exact amount of mix that will be required for a given application. This generally leads to excess mix left in the tank at the end of a job, or at a change point. Proper disposal of this mix can be environmentally hazardous, costly, and dangerous.
Additionally, for on-the-fly blending of acids to be successful, the flow and pressure of the different components must be controlled. For instance, a good blend cannot be obtained if one fluid component flows at 60 psi and another at 20 psi. Additionally, it is important for the base fluid (e.g. water) not to enter the raw acid. Accordingly, it is important to be able to control the different components in order to prepare the mixture in a prescribed order.
Moreover, it is important to monitor the properties of a treatment fluid to ensure proper performance. Traditionally, a valve and bucket approach is used to take a sample of the treatment fluid out of the system for testing and analysis. Specifically, the onsite personnel would have to open a valve and obtain a sample of the treatment fluid in a bucket for analysis. However, the traditional methods of retrieving samples have several drawbacks. The treatment fluid often comprises hazardous, corrosive or flammable material thereby posing a danger to the equipment, environment and the personnel taking the sample. Moreover, exposure to elements can compromise the sample properties leading to inaccurate results when analyzing the sample.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to example embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.